AP/WMOT

WASHINGTON (AP/WMOT) — The Senate has passed Tennessee Senator Bob Corker’s bill to give Congress a chance to review — and possibly reject — any final nuclear deal with Iran.

Corker received rare bi-partisan support for the measure which passed 98-1, but he first had to fend off amendments from conservative lawmakers, including Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton, that would have scuttled the deal. Cotton cast the lone dissenting vote, frustrated that his amendments toughening the bill’s language were not considered.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) -- The controversial Dutch politician invited to deliver the keynote address at the Garland, Texas, event targeted by terrorists on Sunday is no stranger to Middle Tennessee.

Geert Wilders is well-known in Europe and the U.S. for his anti-Muslim rhetoric. He has reportedly been on Al Queida’s hit list for years.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — The Nashville Public Library is helping to mark the fifth anniversary of the historic May 2010 floods.

Nearly two dozen people died in the floods and rising waters caused billions in damages.

Old Hickory resident Harding Brewster used an old boat stored in his back yard to ferry his neighbors to safety as water surged into his neighborhood. His home was badly damaged, but he recalled that a second tragedy was the flood of unscrupulous contactors who converged on the area.

WASHINGTON (AP/WMOT) — Mid-state Congressman Diane Black (R) is leading the charge in the U.S. House to revoke a local District of Columbia law barring discrimination against workers who have abortions.

The measure passed the House Thursday night 228 to 193. The GOP effort is largely symbolic because President Barack Obama is all but certain to veto it should it also pass the Senate.

Republican Rep. Andy Holt of Dresden wants to delay votes on Gov. Bill Haslam's legislative proposals to insure against vetoes of embattled measures like allowing people with handgun carry permits to be armed in city parks.

Dresden, who has twice had bills vetoed by Haslam, announced at the start of yesterday’s floor session that he wanted to protect against what he called "questionable bills" being rejected by the governor.

WASHINGTON (AP/WMOT) — Congress is headed for another showdown with President Obama over a bill proposed by Tennessee Senator Bob Corker.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will Tuesday take up the Corker bill that would require President Barack Obama to give Congress a voice in any nuclear deal with Iran. Corker now heads the committee

“I’m very concerned about where we are. I think we’re headed to a place where we’re gonna lose leverage and not get much. We used to talk about dismantlement and now we’re talking about unplugging.”

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Legislation that would require all of Tennessee's law enforcement agencies to adopt written policies to ban racial profiling has passed the Senate.

The measure was approved 28-0 yesterday evening. The bill was sponsored by Republican Sen. Brian Kelsey of Germantown.

“A few years ago this body passed a law that encouraged law enforcement agencies to adopt policies against racial profiling; many of them have done so. However, this particular legislation would require them to do so.”

TEHRAN, Iran (AP/WMOT) — Tennessee senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander are among just a hand full of Republican lawmakers who did not sign a controversial letter to the leaders of Iran concerning ongoing nuclear disarmament talks.

Corker and Alexander are two of only seven GOP senators who refused to sign the letter warning Iran’s leadership that any nuclear deal they sign with President Barack Obama could be scrapped once he leaves office

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — A group of Tennessee college students wants a federal court to require the state to accept their school identification cards as valid voter identification.

The out-of-state students attending Fisk University and Tennessee State University say in the lawsuit filed last week they’d like to vote in Tennessee. However, the state won’t accept ID cards from other states nor will it accept student ID from Tennessee colleges and universities.

Alexander and his fellow Republicans controlling the Senate are moving to reverse a new National Labor Relations Board rule that would shorten the time between a union's request for representation and the vote on whether to certify a union.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — National Weather Service forecasters are issuing storm warnings ahead of an expected drop in temperatures accompanied by snow and ice in Tennessee.

Here in Middle Tennessee, a winter storm warning goes in effect at 6 p.m. Wednesday evening in areas around and north of Interstate 40, including Nashville and Crossville. Meteorologist Brittney Whitehead in the Nashville Office tells us what to expect.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — The death toll from this past week’s winter storms is up to 22 in Tennessee.

Officials say six deaths were the result of traffic accidents, three died in a fire, and nine succumbed to hypothermia. The rest were for various causes, including one man who couldn’t get to dialysis treatment.

Most of Middle Tennessee escaped additional damage during Friday’s ice storm, but the Cumberland Plateau wasn’t so lucky.

WASHINGTON (APWMOT) — A Tennessee Democrat voted against party and president yesterday to help Republicans pass a bill approving construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

Nashville Congressman Jim Cooper was one of 28 Democrats to join the Republican majority to pass the bill. Rep. Rep. Steve Cohen, the other Democrat in Tennessee’s congressional delegation, voted against the pipeline.

President Obama has promised to veto the measure. While the bill passed both chambers comfortably, neither has the votes to override a veto.

WASHINGTON (AP) — This year’s open enrollment period under president Obama’s health care law comes to a close on Sunday.

So far, about 7.5 million people have enrolled using the Affordable Care Act’s online Insurance Marketplace. The marketplace provides federal subsidies for private health insurance for people who don't have job-based policies.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) -- Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander has used his new position as Chairman of the Senate Health Committee to weigh in on the debate concerning Measles vaccinations.

Health officials say there are now 121 measles cases nationwide, all but 18 are tied to an outbreak that started at the Disneyland amusement park in California.

Until recently, it was unusual to see more than 100 measles cases a year in the United States. However, many parents now avoid getting their kids vaccinated, believing the shots themselves cause devastating illnesses.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — Gov. Bill Haslam devoted half of his State of the State speech to education and again this year promised Tennessee teachers a pay raise.

The Republican governor announced Monday evening that he’s included $100 million dollars in the upcoming budget to fund a 4 percent salary increase for teachers. Haslam also announced that he’ll be submitting legislation to make other changes teachers have been asking for.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — A new poll by Middle Tennessee State University shows overwhelming support for Gov. Bill Haslam's program to make community college and technical schools free for upcoming graduates.

The poll found that 79 percent approve of the program known as Tennessee Promise. The poll showed 12 percent against it, 8 percent were unsure and the rest gave no answer.

Here’s how the governor described Tennessee Promise when he introduced the initiative last year.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP/WMOT) — DUI arrests are on the rise here in the mid-state and across Tennessee. A Tennessee Bureau of Investigation report says there were more Tennessee residents charged with driving under the influence in 2014 than 2013. The report, released Feb. 1, says law enforcement agencies arrested just over 29,500 Tennessee drivers for the offense in 2014. That's 639 more people arrested for DUI than in the previous year. With the exception of 2013, DUI arrests in Murfreesboro have risen each year since at least 2009.

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) — The state Legislature goes into special session Monday to take Gov. Bill Haslam’s Medicaid expansion proposal.

The governor was here in Murfreesboro yesterday afternoon wrapping up a statewide tour promoting the special deal he worked out with the Obama Administration. Haslam has acknowledged that getting fellow Republicans to approve any deal connected to the president’s signature Affordable Health Care Act will be an uphill battle.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — About 90 percent of Tennessee's 2014 high school graduates have applied for the first year of Tennessee Promise, the program that offers eligible seniors the chance to go to a community college or technical college tuition-free.

The Tennessean reports that amounts to about 58,000 students and exceeds predictions by tens of thousands.

Tennessee Board of Regents Chancellor John Morgan says, not only will there be more students, but they’ll likely need more help to succeed.

State Attorney General Herbert Slatery says the state will be able to cancel the proposed Insure Tennessee plan to provide health insurance to low-income Tennesseans if costs exceed expectations.

But yesterday in a senate Judicial Committee hearing, some Senators took issue with that legal opinion. Republican Senator Mike Bell of Riceville told the hearing he fears Tennessee could end up in a federal lawsuit.